Studiocanal comes out sales on Coens' 'Davis'

Pan-European group Studiocanal has clinched a swathe of pre-sales on Joel and Ethan Coen's "Inside Llewyn Davis," which begins shooting Monday in NY. Studiocanal will distrib the film, that is set among the sixties Greenwich Village folk music scene, within the U.K., France and Germany. The pic, that is being created by Scott Rudin, continues to be pre-offered to Scandinavia (Mis Label), Australia/Nz (Village Roadshow), Europe (Ascot Elite) and Benelux (Belga Films). Pre-sales also encompass top marketers in more compact areas: Singapore's Shaw Org., Greece's Village and Hong Kong's Golden Scene Co. Poland's ITI Cinema, Israel's Lev Movie theaters, and Taiwan's Blockbuster have pre-bought "Davis." As have Blue Sky Media for Czech Republic/Slovakia and Blitz for former Yugoslavia. "Davis" was inspired by singer Dork Van Ronk, a buddy of Bob Dylan. The ensemble film stars Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham, Garreth Hedlund and Jeanine Serralles. Pre-sales are even more amazing since struck on the effectiveness of the company directors along with a pitch, without any script and just a couple of cast names, stated Harold van Lier, that has been upped towards the position of Studiocanal mind of worldwide distribution. "The Coens' films haven't been on the independent marketplace for quite a while. Their latest, 'True Grit,' would be a career box office best. Marketers know they deliver films that are strong, original, event movies which drive their business and therefore are exclusive for his or her companies," Van Lier added. In the new role, Van Lier's oversight includes sales on Studiocanal's library, the biggest in Europe. At Berlin, Van Lier may have a "Davis'" shooting script, a movie being produced along with a full cast to market off. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com